Hansen: Blood and sweat mixes with Sawdust

June 23, 2011|By David Hansen

In business they call it a "closing event, the golden opportunity to finalize the deal. For many Laguna artists, Friday's opening of the Sawdust Festival is their nine-week closing event, something they've worked toward all year, sweating blood and now hoping for the best.

Eleven years ago, Carrie Zeller was barely selling photos on eBay when she realized she was quickly becoming a commodity.

Now, she is in her fifth year at Sawdust because she is "taking photography to the next level," adding an interesting overlay of fused and slumped glass to the photos, some selling for almost $4,000.

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"Everybody who comes by says, 'I've never seen that before,'" Zeller said with a smile. "And that was my goal."

But it doesn't happen overnight.

Most artists at Sawdust agree that success takes time. And it's not just the quality of the work that needs to percolate. It's building the relationships with prospects, getting your work accepted and infused into the culture of buyers.

"It takes five years for people to trust you," said James Koch, whose distinctive rusted ironworks initially were dismissed by skeptical buyers.

"I sell rust for a living, but I support myself with my art now," said Koch, who has had a Sawdust booth for 13 years. "It launched my career."

Koch now uses Sawdust as a real-time market research firm.

"I'll make one thing and test it," he said. "If it sells, I'll make two. If those two sell, I'll make four."

At some point in the math, it becomes obvious that "art" transitions into "product."